Bizarre Foods

20 Delicious Regional Dishes Across America

In his 10th year eating his way around the world for Travel Channel, Andrew Zimmern travels across the United States to find the least known and most loved regional specialities that America has to offer for the latest season of Bizarre Foods. From Southern California barbecue to Finnish sweetbreads in the Midwest, get ready to dig into these appetizing local dishes.

Halibut Ceviche; Pacific Coast Highway

Freshly diced California avocados are mixed with bright citrus juice, herbs and halibut to make a summery bite that Andrew calls “California on a corn chip.”

Aged California Sirloin; Santa Maria, Calif.

This top sirloin was aged for two months before getting the traditional Santa Maria-style barbecue treatment: a dry seasoning mix of salt, black pepper and garlic salt and a slow grill over red oak wood coals.

Baked Halibut; Avila Beach, Calif.

Andrew joins the Evans family for a home-cooked dinner of baked halibut with sour cream sprinkled with chopped chives.

Fried Lingcod; Morro Bay, Calif.

Caught only hours before serving, this slightly sweet and firm-fleshed fish found off the coast of Southern California is perfect for frying and grilling.

Barbecue; Santa Maria, Calif.

Southern California may not be the first thing to come to mind when barbecue is on the menu, but the local Elks Lodge serves up sizzling Santa Maria-style barbecue cooked over local red wood coals.

Whole Fried Rockfish; Morro Bay, Calif.

Head to Dockside restaurant on the coast for their specialty: locally caught black and yellow rockfish, fried whole and served with a twist of lemon and tartar sauce.

Salmon; Columbia River

On the historic Lewis & Clark Trail in the Pacific Northwest, Andrew cooks a lunch of freshly caught salmon on the shore of the Columbia River.

Pork Chops; Milledgeville, Ga.

Known as the Kobe beef of pork, these locally raised Mangalitsa chops are seared over an open grill at Comfort Foods restaurant.

Venison Steak; Eatonton, Ga.

In this Georgia town rich with Civil War history, Andrew enjoys a dish of fried venison deer steak.

Roasted Rabbit; Milledgeville, Ga.

Carrots, celery and onions are grilled in mulefoot pig lard and roasted with rabbit in this colorful Southern comfort food dish.

Three Meats and Two Sides; Macon, Ga.

Andrew has a buffet of soul food offerings for dinner: Oxtails and gravy, turkey necks, collard greens, macaroni and cheese and fried chicken are generously served at Silly Lilly’s restaurant.

Wild Game and Greens; Eatonton, Ga.

There are a few surprises in store for Andrew on this plate: Wild boar, raccoon and squirrel dumplings are served with traditional green beans and collard greens.

Smoked Pork; Leesville, S.C.

Shealy’s restaurant makes all of its recipes the same way as it did 50 years ago; punchy mustard barbecue sauce cuts through the rich smoked pork, and the traditional Southern sides are accompanied with a bun to soak up the leftover gravy.

Texas Brisket; Atlanta, Ga.

You don’t need to go to the Lone Star State for the perfect salt-and-pepper crust and slow-smoked flavor of this traditional brisket--head to Atlanta, where Fox Brothers restaurant slowly smokes the meat over hickory wood to bring out the full flavor.

Beer Can Turkey; Greenville, S.C.

Mo & Joe’s Barbecue knows its customers well--for local tailgaters, the top selling dish worth waiting for is the smoked beer can turkey, pulled apart and served in a soft bun.

Mustard Sauce; S.C.

Back in the 1700s, German immigrants settled in South Carolina and brought condiments like mustard with them. Mustard barbecue sauce was born and has been enjoyed in tangy South Carolina barbecue ever since.

Smoked Whitefish; Keweenaw Peninsula, Mich.

On this scenic peninsula on Lake Superior, whitefish can be readily found, smoked and served as a local specialty.

Finnish Nisu; Upper Peninsula, Mich.

Finnish immigrants first brought this cardamom-fragrant braided sweetbread to Michigan in the late 1800s.

Juustoa; Hancock, Mich.

In northern Michigan, you can find one of the biggest Finnish populations outside of Finland, as well as plenty of the delightfully squeaky Finnish cheese called juustoa.

Ruffed Grouse; Upper Michigan

Andrew and Michigan-based hunter Dennis Stachewicz enjoy a meal of roasted game bird and wild rice after a rainy hunt.